Rumor has it
by TsukyAkari
Summary: Charlotte has a secret that sends everyone over the edge. Yami understands why.


**Hi everyone! As you have probably noticed, I´m not a native speaker of English so I apologize in advance for any possible mistakes I made. I like writing in English to practice: feedback is welcome. I hope you guys enjoy this!**

* * *

**Rumor has it**

**A Black clover fanfiction**

There was some sort of commotion outside the Clover Castle and it seemed it involved some of the Black Bulls members. In fact, it didn't come as a surprise –rather an annoyance- but something about it struck him as odd: when didn´t a commotion involved, one way or another, his squad? However, this was… _different_. For the lousy members he had accepted to his squad over the years, they were certainly _quiet_ at the time. They were all suspiciously in silence, sitting all together around Gray, who was blushing so hard Yami thought her head might explode anytime. Whatever was going on, it seemed, was some sort of interrogatory. If they weren't yelling at each other and were instead silently waiting for an answer, most definitely _something_ was going on. Something big. Not only that: there were some other squad members around. Yami recognized a beaten and half-burned kid he recognized as Fuegoleon´s young brother: probably he had talked back to Anegoleon and, therefore, he had it coming. Asta´s childhood friend, the condescending one with the wind spirit, was also there, unbothered but somehow interested as well. A Golden Dawn girl he thought was related to Noelle was standing next to her. The Black Bull captain also recognized the annoying brat the antimagic kiddo defeated on his exam and some other young magicians he had never seen before. They were whispering so he couldn't make out what they were saying and he thought that some bad news had been spread around. It probably had to do with the magic king bringing all the captains over to the castle but he wasn't paying attention, to begin with, so he probably had missed out the current state of events.

"Oi, Finral. What´s going on?", he asked as he approached the group, unable to hold back his curiosity any longer.

"Gray heard a rumor, captain, of the most interesting nature not so long ago", replied Asta, whose voice came out as a whisper.

It was suspicious, odd and he wondered what the rumor could possibly be about to have the whole group on edge. Especially when Gray had no reason to have gone to the capital. He dragged Finral out of a disastrous date and the antimagic kiddo had strung along but he couldn't remember having another subordinate as a companion. Yet Noelle was also part of the commotion. In any case, knowing Gray, she wouldn't have gone too far away from them –if she had, indeed, gone with her squad members and not by herself- so what she had heard was possibly something he had missed out for not paying attention. He didn't have much the chance to ask, however, as Gray, after listening to what Asta said blushed even harder and hid her face in her hands.

"So, brat, would you care to elaborate?"

"I don't know much, either, captain. But Gray disguised and somehow found out something that she later told Finral that had him crying for the past half hour. It had something to do with a very special lady everyone´s infatuated with"

Yami growled in annoyance. As much as he liked Finral, the youngster wasn't the most skilled guy to have his way with girls. They were all aware of how many times –too many to count- the space mage had been turned down, so it shouldn't come as a surprise he had been rejected again. Still, he found it strange why that group would become so interested in what Gray had heard. He was about to scold Finral to remind him of his past failures when the man himself spoke up, addressing his captain.

"Rumor has it, Yami-san, that Captain Charlotte´s got a secret boyfriend".

Yami blinked. For a couple of seconds, no one spoke. Only Gray muffled sounds of embarrassment could be heard.

"Are we talking about the spiny prickly queen here, Finral? Charlotte Roselei?"

"Yes! Can you imagine?"

"No, I can´t. Why did you idiots get so worked up about that? It´s not like she ever batted an eye to you, Finral. Or anyone in this group"

"It is exactly that, Yami-san! You must admit this is something big"

"A massive surprise, I guess. But you heard her back at the cave, didn't ya? That her only lover is the battlefield, so I bet this whole rumor is plain nonsense. As if someone would even dare try to approach that stubborn woman. Or she would let them"

Silence filled the air again. Yami noticed that what he had said finally had dawned on them: the Blue Rose captain was out of everyone´s league and she would never give in to anyone. All of those who had gathered up started looking at each other; it seemed they were reaching a tacit agreement about such conversation never taking place, so Yami shrugged it off and was about to turn his back when Finral spoke up again.

"Still, Yami-san! Gray heard what she heard and you can´t say it is not intriguing", said the spatial mage, trying to get his point across and certainly not giving up.

"Oh? What was it? So much of a secret it isn't if you guys could hold grasp of the rumor, which makes me wonder why that woman herself hasn't shown up to kill you idiots for making this thing up"

"We didn´t make it up, captain Yami!", intervened Asta, this time reaching his noticeable high pitch, "Gray, tell him what you told Finral!"

But Yami, impatient about running in circles and eager to listen to the details, grabbed Asta´s head and lifted him in the air.

"Why don't you tell me yourself, brat? Since you are the most worked up here"

"I will tell you myself", said Noelle, "I too had heard about this before Gray said a word. Captain Charlotte is a noblewoman, after all: they are always keeping tabs on her, right Mimosa, Leopold? You see, captain Yami, Finral here was trying to court some Blue Rose squad members near their provisionary base, as if it wasn't idiotic enough to even try to approach them. Gray was standing near. Being the usual dumbass he is, Finral caused these girls to go on a murder rampage and he ran away with half the Blue Rose squad after his head. Scared, Gray thought it would be easy to disguise as one those girls to stay away from trouble. She did and she approached other members who were discussing about their captain. Several times, for several weeks and months, they had noticed Captain Charlotte would leave during the night and would only come back a little before dawn, all by herself and without telling anyone. It was abnormal since she is always surrounded by one or two of her girls. The fact that she would secretly leave them behind made them suspicious, but they never gathered the courage to follow her: if they were found out… you two go way back, right captain? You are aware of her short temper and her squad members, too, feared she would get mad. Those times were not that common and would not happen close to each other, so at first, they didn't mind but, as rare as they were, they started noticing she would go out occasionally"

Noelle stopped and stared at him as if expecting he would admit it was extraordinary and that something was off. Yami took a puff at his cigarette.

"We do go way back, as you put it, Noelle, so I can tell you she is stubborn enough as to not let anyone in on her businesses and she tends to rely only on herself. Instead of thinking she´s miraculously found a guy who would put up with her sulkiness, her squad should rather think the thorn maiden´s going through something difficult"

Again, silence fell upon the group and Yami recognized the look on their faces: guilt. For a split second, the Black Bulls captain thought the conversation was over, but Noelle kept on.

"You might be right, captain. But there´s still something you haven't heard and will probably make you consider this in another light: the Blue Rose squad took notice of someone lurking in the shadows around their provisional base here. Can´t be a coincidence, right? This someone would suddenly appear and shortly after Captain Charlotte would leave the base; both of them would be gone together and she would come back several hours later, alone. One of the girls, by chance, caught the smallest glimpse once and she swears on her name it was a man her captain left with. It has happened two or three times in recent weeks and it was what sent the Blue Rose squad -and Finral- to an uproar."

"And everyone here as well. It is still no solid proof, you know? Though it is indeed strange. What does the spiny prickly queen say about it?"

"No one´s even dared to ask"

"Well, it won´t be needed since you brats are going to spread the word in your own squads and even captains will be aware of the queen of sulkiness´ secret rendezvouses. I confess, though, I can´t wait to hear what she has to say when a captain is blunt enough to ask her"

"But you won´t get your chance before us, Black Bulls captain!", said the annoying Green Mantis kid, pointing at Yami and smiling triumphantly, "because we will catch them red-handed tonight, fuha!"

"How so, you nasty bug?"

"This is why we are all here, Yami-san!", said Finral with enthusiasm, "The Blue Rose squad has noticed this mysterious man only appears here, at the provisional base. Those girls, and pretty much every other squad, only occupy the bases when there´s a captains´ meeting. As of today, there´s been a meeting you just left. So, captain Charlotte and her secret boyfriend will be meeting today and the Blue Rose squad is planning, of all them, to follow her and witness what the two of them are up to! We are all tagging along as well. Now, it is probably not a good idea, but she can´t kill us all, right?"

"I wouldn't expect any less from her and, if you guys do get slaughtered, you would have brought it upon yourselves. None of my business anyway, but if you Black Bulls don't come back alive I will kill you myself".

Yami lit a cigarette and he noticed how his subordinates cringed at the high possibility of getting killed by either the Blue Rose captain or him. Even the other kids suddenly became aware of how much was at stake. There certainly was an ongoing war at the all-woman squad and they must have been really secretive as for their captain to remain oblivious of the ambush, though other squad members would participate in it. Was the mighty Charlotte Roselei that careless or was she playing all along? Still, it was funny to watch youngsters like them trying to corner the queen of sulkiness into a confession with her lover by her side… then, realization hit him: it wasn't just about the prettiest and most looked up captain in the kingdom, it was about her lover too.

"So, from what I can see", Yami kept on, "this whole uproar is caused not only because the thorn maiden has got a boyfriend brave enough to risk his life around her girls but also because you guys suspect said man might be a captain. That´s it, right? Otherwise, no one would care. A captain or a nobleman, that is. But since you are all worked up here, the suspicion lies heavily on a captain. Since one of the sulky queen´s girls saw a man, Dorothy and Anegoleon are out of the question. Kaiser is way too old and Rill much too young to be considered into the question. It leaves the braided weirdo, the golden chicken headed masked man, the slender psycho, Fuegoleon and I as the only possible options. Jack is a commoner who only thinks about destroying things, so a hard no for him. I am a commoner, a foreigner and almost an outlaw she only looks down upon to scold, so a harder no for me. Now, we´ve got three captains, all noblemen. She´s a noblewoman too, so it is not discouraging if it comes to one of them. Still, aren´t you royals all related? Yuck, that´s just disgusting"

"It is true Vermillions are related to Silvas, but I don´t understand much beyond that about the royal families", said Leopold, "But I know the Roselei house is a very special one and it is not related to any other royal houses, so their heir might marry any other heir she would like to".

"Well, to me it seems she would rather never get married. But maybe she´s changed her mind after all. Now, I see Noelle, those two guys from Vangeance´s squad and this half burned-kid, besides the other idiots around. Noelle is rooting for her brother, I guess, and I bet my ass the three remaining ones I just mentioned are rooting for their respective captains to be the one cornered tonight with the sulky queen. The fact that a bunch of kids non-related to the possible lucky guys is here as well makes me wonder what sort of bet is currently taking place and how much the prize is worth because, if it is gambling we are talking about, I´m in"

"You mean you played detective here only to say you are also curious about what captain is the lucky one?!", exclaimed Finral in disbelief.

"I figured out along the way but I needed confirmation nonetheless. So, how much are we talking about?"

"Well, now that you mention it…"

"Forget it, Black Bulls captain! Brother Fuegoleon is the only one capable of stealing lady Charlotte´s heart away! The reward will be completely ours"

"Hate to blow your bubble, Leopold, but brother Nozel´s character is very much alike to captain´s Charlotte. They are always so cold and ruthless… they are meant for each other!"

"Well, captain Charlotte would never submit to anyone that is not as strong as she is. You must admit that when it comes to battle, our captain Vangeance is by far the best candidate. His temperament and hers are similar and they get along fine. So maybe it is time for you to realize you are wrong"

"You know", said Asta, "It can also be the magic king himself. Everyone else may visit the Blue Rose captain in her base away from the capital, but this man has been noticed only here at the capital during meetings. The only one that seldom leaves the capital and is always present at such gatherings… is the magic king".

Again, silence fell upon the group but it didn't last for long: someone –probably Yami-smacked Asta in the head and knocked him out unconscious. Noelle scolded the poor kid for being such an idiot: the king was also too old and he only focused on what was best for the kingdom, so romantic involvement wasn´t part of his agenda.

"Asta might be right", said Mimosa a little while later, "No, not about the magic king! Please, don´t hit me! I didn't mean it like that! All I´m trying to say is that there might be a possibility it is not a captain she´s been seeing but someone from the capital. A nobleman, maybe?"

"Why do you guys think it is a captain, anyway? I mean, it makes sense but it can also be a coincidence he´s only seen at this base during captain meetings time. You suspect that stubborn woman and her lover don't meet only around the provisional base, but rather he is seemed less cautious here at the capital. So, why a captain?"

"Because, captain Yami, captains are the strongest dudes in the whole kingdom! Can you imagine the might Charlotte Roselei setting down for less than a strong nobleman captain?"

"Well, now that you ask, I absolutely cannot imagine the spiny prickly queen getting a lover, much less setting down. But if it comes to be, yes, a captain would do, I guess. So, about this bet… I still think this whole charade is nothing but plain nonsense, but I ain´t risking losing the chance to one-up him: I´ll give William a go. This secretive nature of those escapades is very much like him and his magic is something related to a tree and hers is briars, so plants and… yes, I´m rooting for Vangeance here. Who´s collecting the money?"

"Sekke is, Yami-san".

"Oh, the Green Mantis bug? I´ll have your captain kill you if you don´t pay in time, you hear me? Anyway, this whole ambush thing, how will it be done?"

"Sol is the one setting everything up since she took greater offense at the man for stealing her captain´s heart away. So far, we know both of them leave in the direction of the forest, so we will follow from the distance until she meets with her boyfriend. There will also be some others guarding the provisional base in case he comes around before captain Charlotte leaves. We will wait to catch them together but we are trying to figure out who the man is, in case the plan backfires and the Blue Rose captain finds out."

"Yeah, you only have to hope she doesn't realize she´s surrounded by hordes of idiots. She or whatever captain will be meeting with her. Nice plan, brats. Well, whatever. You guys tell me how things turned out by tomorrow afternoon. If none of you shows up, I will have you as dead. Black Bulls, if don't come back on your two feet, I will kill you myself".

"Whatever you say, Black Bulls captain! Just don't tell on us: we are risking the chance of being massacred but if you throw us to the wolves without much of chance of getting away with it, we will certainly die tonight!"

"Oh, I bet your sister will beat you to death if she finds out, so you should be worried about her finding out. Though the spiny prickly queen is fearsome as well. Anyway, whether you are told on or not, whatever it comes out to be is your own fault. As far as I know, I´m oblivious of this ambush taking place"

"We can always say it was captain Yami´s idea all along. I mean, if the plan backfires", thought Asta.

But, much to his own disgrace, he thought out loud. The voice he thought was in his head was almost squeezed out through the foreigner´s iron hand.

"Oh, you planning to blame it on me? How ´bout instead of gambling my money away or telling on you I just save the queen of sulkiness the trouble and kill you all at once?

"As far as we know, YOU KNOW NOTHING AT ALL!", shouted all the youngsters fearing for their lives and taking the loud brat with them.

Yami hesitated as he took a puff at his cigarette, but it was enough time for all those kids to run away. But… He should have killed them after all. Now, it would be a pain in the ass to hunt them down because, to his surprise, they were smart –and fast- enough to run when they had the chance. Yet, they were throwing themselves into the wolf´s fangs that night. Intelligence was not needed to realize busting two captains in the middle of something was not sensible and some of those kids were especially bright, though they all seemed to lack common sense. _Kids these days_. Well, Yami conceded to himself, back when he was really young, he would go on stupid tasks just for the hell of it and to annoy people some people, but most of the time he just didn't care about anything taking place around. He wondered if it was the thrill of getting caught what motivated those kids, as they had nothing to gain for exposing somebody else´s secret.

Now, the mighty Charlotte Roselei letting herself get caught by a bunch of kids… she was utter and deeply in love to make such a mistake. Or was she playing all along? She was the smartest woman he knew and probably was also one of the smartest captains as well, so it was no easy task to have her fooled. Maybe it was she trusted all of her girls too much? She would never have the smallest suspicion of them plotting against her, but there they were. He needed to find out what the Blue Rose captain´s role was in the whole trap: an unaware victim, a cornered beast about to be covered in blood or an ambushed victim about to ambush. Which one was it? Oh, and not to mention her secret boyfriend as well. The Black Bulls captain wanted to have the upper hand in the matter. He laughed his lungs out: if there was something Yami was completely sure about the spiny prickly queen´s boyfriend it was that such man would never let himself get caught.

It was only then he realized Gray, the one who had caused the whole uproar, hadn't run and was, in fact, hiding behind him. He smirked and Gray cringed as she realized she, too, should have run away.

"Oh, just the one I was looking for! You were the one who spread the word, weren´t ya? We have a long conversation ahead"

* * *

Sol felt herself falling into despair as the hours had been growing longer and longer and she needed to find out who was the man her captain had been seeing. How he had managed to break through all the walls the Blue Rose captain had built around herself the young girl had no idea. It must be an extraordinary man, she admitted -much to her own regret- and it was the reason the whole squad wanted to have a word with him. A fistfight at that but hey, it was the mighty and unreachable Charlotte Roselei they were talking about. And they weren't the only one curious about the mysterious man´s identity: even the noble kids from other squads had shown up volunteering to help them to corner the man into recognition. Whoever he was, he had a storm coming. How they were going to take down Fuegoleon Vermillion, Nozel Silva or –worse- William Vangeance still remained a mystery and it seemed they were going to find out on the way.

After the captains´ meeting, the Blue Rose captain had been distracted: her mind was anywhere else but at their current location. A gentle smile was blissfully plastered on her lips and a joyful glint sparkled in her eyes: she seemed at peace staring at the horizon, longing for something Sol couldn't identify. It made the young girl happy, in fact, seeing her captain like this. Everyone was happy, as they had noticed this affair of Charlotte´s had put her at ease and these secret rendezvouses made her look rejuvenated and they would actually catch her giggling about of the blue. She kept her cool demeanor and her strict being, but it was rather cute seeing this relaxed version of her, as they suspected she was experiencing certain happiness that made her glow. It wasn't that their captain was unhappy before, around them she had always been cheerful, in fact, but now it seemed she wasn't as shy as she was before to show her joy in front of others.

They liked it, they really did. Sol, especially. But they were all afraid the effect might disappear: their captain wouldn't be the first or the last woman to get a broken heart over a man. They wouldn´t bear to see their captain´s expectations shattered into pieces. Charlotte was strong, but she wasn't immune to love effects: so far, she had fallen in love. And she might fall victim to a broken heart as well.

Whoever of the three noblemen their captain had chosen, all the Blue Rose squad members would roll with it: the three of them were decent enough. In fact, they would be okay with anyone Charlotte thought worthy, as long as he made her happy. Maybe the girls were hoping -only a little- Vangeance was the lucky one, but they weren´t counting on it. Still, they intended to find out who Charlotte had been seeing in secret, confront him and make him promise not to break the Blue Rose captain´s heart. Maybe they were also intending for a beating before the latter goal –just to make sure-, but a friendly conversation in all cases.

It was how Sol and her squad members found themselves growing anxious about the mysterious man´s identity: it was late already –about time- and they were finishing their meals, with Charlotte so distracted she hadn't noticed several other people were lurking around the provisional base. It was for the best, they thought, she wasn't paying attention or they would never manage to catch the lovebirds red-handed. Sol wondered if her captain would get mad at them for making such a plan; she hoped not: they had no intention of getting caught. Anyway, Charlotte seemed eager to be alone and, as soon as night had come, she would look into a certain direction they suspected they all would be following sooner or later.

Soon after the whole squad went curfew, Sol went to check in on the kids from the other squads that tagged along: a Black Bull girl, the one from the Silva family, was threatening Fuegoleon´s brother to keep quiet or she would personally go to his sister to tell on him. Pretty much the same she said to the antimagic twerp, who almost sew his mouth after hearing that, if he was to make a single sound that would make the Black Bulls beast –captain- lose his money, he would be chopped into little pieces. Everyone else was discrete and needed no further explanation about Charlotte Roselei´s short temper and what was at stake: their own well-being… and their lives.

An hour or so after the beginning of the established curfew, the Blue Rose captain left her provisional base in a hurry. They swallowed a big lump of fear as they -all of them- started following from behind, moving as slowly as they could. The silence was so absolute they were sure they could hear everybody else´s heart and they were so self-conscious of every step they took that they wondered how many seconds it would take Charlotte to turn and attack them. But the blond woman never looked behind, not even once. She was really eager to meet this man, it seemed. They went far into the forest until Charlotte reached a certain open spot surrounded by rocks, bushes and tall trees. It was a perfectly romantic place to meet with a special someone. And a most fitted one to hide and watch from the distance. Luckily for them, Charlotte sat on a rock with her back to them, reducing the chance of them getting caught. As they settled into comfortable positions and, without a spoken word, distributed themselves into strategically chosen places to get a better view of an oncoming visitor, they noticed how beautiful the woman they had followed was. This boyfriend of hers was definitely a lucky man. She was gently brushing her hair, or braiding it and then unbraiding it, pacing back and forth from the rock… they were so entranced by her beauty they didn't notice how minutes started turning into hours. Then, Charlotte herself furrowed her brow and brought her knees to her chest and rested her head in them. A heartbeat later, realization dawned on them: they stared at her in disbelief and then started looking at each other, trying to find confirmation about thinking the same. _She´s been stood up! _

Incredulity was the unanimous first reaction among the hidden group. Not exactly the same were the feelings that followed in some of them: pity for Charlotte, rage for the man who didn't show up, uncertainty about what to do next, an uncontrollable desire to laugh as a release from the tension that had been building, the realization they were surrounded by massive spiders, a sudden heartache… whatever had brought them together was crumbling away. They remained in their positions, though, waiting for the poor woman to make a decision. She didn't move for a couple of minutes and then she lifted her head and stared right straight ahead from her. She stood up. Out of the blue, she jumped and took some steps in the direction she was looking at and a smile crept up her face. They all held their breaths.

It was a rather unexpected and very much unwanted visitor who came into their view, with a cigar in his hand.

"Well, if it isn´t the spiny prickly queen herself. What are you doing here?", Yami addressed her and waved his cigar before taking a puff.

She had moved to meet him but sudden realization struck her and she froze in her place for some seconds. She furrowed her brow and turned her back to him. The group forgot how to breathe: the situation was quickly going downhill and it didn't help the man Charlotte despised to no end had shown up after she had been waiting for someone else.

"I am waiting for somebody", Charlotte replied harshly.

"Out here? Of all places?"

"What do you want, Yami?"

"The magic king has requested all captains to show at the palace for an emergency meeting. You never showed up, he got worried and we were sent looking for you.

"An emergency meeting? Why wasn't I informed?

"The notification is probably at your desk and you would have seen it if you weren't here… waiting for somebody"

"How did you find me?"

"Your ki gave you away, though I also heard _some rumors_ about you spending time here… with somebody. So, spiny prickly queen, finally found a guy who puts up with you?

"It is none of your business"

"Well to me it seems you got dumped. You been waiting long? Who would have thought someone like you would be stood up. Happens to us all, I guess"

"Keep going and I swear I´ll…"

Yami shushed her and stared to his left. Charlotte followed his gaze and gasped. Both of them stared at each other again and he smirked.

"Don´t", she said while gritting her teeth.

But he ignored her and started walking over to some bushes while also speaking.

"So this is him, thorn maiden? Hahaha, you kidding? Oi, buddy! Your woman here is waiting for you, though you took long enough and she´s leaving in no time, so come out and kiss her goodbye"

"YAMI!", an exasperated Charlotte yelled and went after the Black Bulls captain.

Said man erupted into laughter but didn't stop, not even after a flustered Charlotte kept telling him to knock it off.

The eavesdroppers were all at the brink of a heart attack. They couldn't get any closer without being discovered. And, as much as they tried, nobody seemed to be able to catch a glimpse of the mysterious man. They gestured each other with their hands, but it seemed no one had been able to figure out who it was. All of their hearts were now at their throats.

"WAIT! Please, don´t go!", they heard Charlotte yell and saw her trying to surpass Yami to reach behind the bushes.

"Oi, oi! Where are you going? He´s running away! Spiny prickly queen, did you get yourself a coward after all? He´s running too fast"

"You scared him away, you dumb brute!", she reproached him and her motions made clear she was about to follow the running man.

But Sol could bare it no longer. Her whole plan was about to give positive results only for it to be destroyed by the repulsive beast! She jumped out of her hiding place and called Yami out. Charlotte turned around and everyone else thought it was useless to remain hiding, so they revealed themselves as well.

"You damn bastard!", yelled Sol, "You just blew our cover and ruined our only chance to smash his skull open"

"Sol!"

"You blew your own cover, you wild girl. Still, you can always go after him, hunt him down and kick his ass. He´s not that far and seems like he´s just a sorry bastard"

"But captain", intervened a very much intrigued Asta, "I can´t feel any ki coming from that place. Not even before"

"What are you saying, kiddo? You implying I´m wrong? Or is it that you´ve gone soft? Can´t you really feel the lingering ki fading away?

He most definitely couldn't, but Asta didn't want to admit it. At the mere suggestion of him leading the group to the mysterious man, he tagged along thinking he would be able to grab hold of the man´s ki if he got nearer. And certainly, he didn't want to let the whole group down. Especially after the murder rampage Yami had stirred on the Blue Rose girls.

"Oi, Sol! Guys! Do not…"

"Chief, you go to the meeting. There´s no way we are letting him go like this"

In a heartbeat, all of them were gone. Only Yami and Charlotte stayed. Calmness filled the atmosphere and the wind breeze made peaceful sounds.

"Let´s go, spiny prickly queen. It´s getting late for our meeting"

He started walking away, still smoking. But she didn´t move. She only stared at him with a playful look in her gaze. He stopped and looked over to her. Their gazes met and they both laughed.

"How did you manage to pull that off?", she said, smiling.

"We have been careless, so I heard of the ambush early on this day. I can´t believe you didn't notice you were surrounded by those kids until you tried to reach me out. Anyway, I figured out how not to get caught, and here we are. You caught up fast and it worked".

"I thought you had stood me up", she answered, a bit resentful, "But I guess you saved us. Good job, never thought you were quite the actor"

"I am not. Those kids are just too gullible, though we will need another way to have them fooled".

"Which reminds me. An emergency meeting, for real? I want to see you try to get away with that"

"Well, there _was_ a meeting. Yeah, don´t look at me like that. As I said, I heard about this charade really early on, so I had plenty of time to give it a thought. So, yes. An emergency meeting was held. It was a setup, of course, so the captains were dispatched as soon as they got to the castle but were invited to stay for the rest of the night. They all did and I was sent looking for you. Now, no one can say I lied and those kids are certainly not going to suspect the ambushers were actually ambushed. I wonder how long it will take them to realize either the man is not real or think that they were left behind"

"How did you manage to hold a meeting?"

"Julius did owe me one. Or two, or three… he owed several. He was the one who caught us first, right? He likes having that privilege. And he had some favors to pay forward".

"You are vicious, devious. And…"

"Hmmm?"

"I like it. I mean, you also having some brains is appealing as well".

"Oi! I just saved you from your own subordinates and all I get is some insults back?"

"What do you want me to say? I never thought they would go behind my back like this. If I hadn't found this show hilarious I would be mad with rage. They mean good, I know. But to actually try to bust us? And bringing everybody else too. Were those Fuegoleon and Nozel´s siblings? Vangeance´s´ kids? Your own shenanigans, Yami?"

"You really are unaware, right? You love me that much? I´m honored. Ouch, Can´t you be a little nicer towards the one that saved you some lame excuses? You see, your girls took notice of you going out by yourself at night and it made them suspicious, which also led them to notice the two of us would meet out here after captains´ meetings. It seems one of them caught notice of me around your base and we leaving together only confirmed their suspicions. Nobody saw me and they planned this whole thing out to corner us into a confession"

"How did you find out?"

"One of my idiots disguised as one of yours, heard about the rumor and spread the word. I found them discussing about whether it was Nozel, Fuegoleon or William the lucky guy. I did take all suspicions away from me and maybe I did also tricked them into believing I thought William was the one, so we should be safe for now".

Charlotte smiled and grabbed hold of his hand.

"We should really get going. They might give up and find us here. What are we going to do once we reach the castle? We can trick children but the squad captains are not that gullible"

"I just told you. Julius´ got some favors to pay forward. Do you not know me at all?"

"I do. The two of us go way back, right?"

"Funny you say it like that. Noelle said the exact same thing to me and no one suspected a little. Maybe it´s time to let the cat out of the bag?"

"I wouldn't mind, in fact. It´s just that we will have everyone meddling around: as soon as they thought I might have a boyfriend, everyone wanted to find out who it was. Soon even captains will start to wonder, especially if the suspicions lie heavily in some of them. Our relationship will no longer be only ours, but everyone´s"

"You are thinking it too much"

"Says the one who manipulated even the magic king to fool some kids"

They started walking away, hand in hand.

"You´re finally staying for the night", he said.

"I am. Are you getting romantic all of a sudden?"

Their voices started fading away and the night went completely quiet. Everything had gone accordingly to Yami´s plan. He knew he probably would be pestered for days with questions about the running man but it was future Yami´s problem. In the end, he had gotten the upper hand in the rumor about the special lady everyone was infatuated with and it had been way too easy not getting caught. For a second, he thought Charlotte might have known all along –if her understanding the situation so quickly and her smirk were proof enough-, but he didn't care: the two of them were by themselves for the night. And it meant their secret was safe. It was his last thought about the matter after before finally the forest and heading towards the castle.

Except that their secret… one of the massive spiders glowed and, a second later, Gray was there. To say she was in shock was an understatement. She had remained disguised because she was afraid her captain would scold her for being out there after he had told her not to go. She was waiting for the captains to leave for their meeting but instead became aware of the truth: the secret man had been captain Yami all along! And he had played dumb! No wonder he was so interested in the matter: he was the other one involved! It was so embarrassing, the two of them keeping everyone in the dark about their relationship. She felt content about being the only one –besides the magic king- that knew about her captain´s special woman but she was certain she was a dead woman if she dared to even say a word! She had learned her lesson: rumors were dangerous things that, sometimes, would guide some to a precious treasure. She had found something big, but she wasn't pushing her luck by telling on her captain!

* * *

So, did you like it? Did I have you fooled about the mysterious boyfriend not being Yami? I do hope you liked it.

Thanks for the support. I´ve been reading fanfics for the past 8 years and this is only the second one I write. A special thanks to MegaAltaria, tamafriend, TuryA, DC Watchergirl, eme-ele and Fernanda (guest) for either following, adding to favorites and/or commenting on "So close, so far". It was my first published work on any platform, so it means a lot to me. Thank you so much! You made me very happy and I hope you get to see this.

I´m trying to fix mistakes on "So close, so far" but I´m new to publishing and I´m still at loss but I will figure it out sooner or later.

Again, thanks for reading!


End file.
